


A Good Time

by InsominiacArrest



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bouncer AU, Crack Pairing, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Minor Violence, Night Clubs, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-14 21:49:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9204752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsominiacArrest/pseuds/InsominiacArrest
Summary: A new bouncer joins The Diamond nightclub crew and Jasper is in charge of training her, of course, it doesn’t change the fact she’s skinny as a beanpole and has an annoyingly aloof attitudeThis is not how Jasper imagined her stepping-stone job would goNote: I meant this to be a crack ship one-shot, but I just kept writing and here we are. Character is from the new Steven Bomb





	1. New Blood

It was an irritatingly eventful night at The Diamond Nightclub in east LA, trouble, trouble and more trouble. 

The night was long, a punk ass wannabe had snorted cocaine in the bathroom, something the managers might turn a blind an eye to but it sure as shit wasn’t happening on Jasper’s watch.

She threw him out faster than he could yelp ‘my mom’s a movie producer!’ Jasper held his face close to hers as she whispers, “Do I look like I care?”

She threw him out on his ass and gave the long line of patrons a withering look, “Keep that shit to streets.” She sneers, “This is a diamond business.”   
  
He flinches and then scurries away with his tail between his legs, running away from the club.

The Diamond Club was a dance venue that was only one entertainment businesses in a long chain of them across the country. God only knew how Jasper was going to work her way up, but she kept things orderly.

Of course, that wasn’t the end, some middle-aged fuck had got his way in and tried to grab at one of the girls. Jasper was rougher with that one, tossing him to the street like a bag of potatoes and a sharp glare.

He runs away without a word and Jasper yells at his back that he’s banned from here on out.

She was grumbling to herself and patting down strangers to let them enter when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Jasper twisted in place and narrowed her eyes, “What is it  _ Canary _ ?” She emphasized the blonde’s nickname like a little jab to that smug look on her face.

Limona was a new manager and trying to play nice more than the others. Another of Yellow Diamond’s blonde lackey’s she put in charge. Jasper always figured she had a thing for blondes.

Jasper wasn’t complaining, Jasper planned to hold that clipboard one day.

Limona cleared her throat, “The new hiree is here.” She was trying to smile again, “She’s already been briefed, so she’ll just shadow you for a few days.”   
  
“What?” Jasper narrowed her eyes, “Where is this coming from?”   
  
Limona arched her fine brow, “You were informed. The email should have been sent a week ago.”   
  
Oh. Jasper wasn’t always up her email, or tech related business, or much really. “Where she is?” She grumbles instead.

Limona jots something down and beckons behind the door, Jasper looks around as she doesn’t spot the New Blood. “Where?”   
  
A string-bean with a crop top meets her eye and Jasper makes a face, “Canary, I don’t have time for your-” 

“This is the new hiree.” Limona points to her, she had fluffy dust colored hair, a bored face and a tight crop-top that showed off a very long strip of stomach and skin, roving miles of skin that Jasper scowled at. 

“What is this.”

“Sup,” The lanky figure stood before her with her hand up in a wave.

“Canary-” Jasper barks as she whirls in place but Limona was backing up.

“Run her through the basics, she should be fine.” Limona was traipsing away on light feet before Jasper could ask her ‘what the hell?’

Jasper’s nostrils flare and the scrawny New Blood looks her up and down, “You can call me Skinny. That’s what everyone calls me.” She puts her hand out and Jasper eyes it.

“No shit.” She says instead and Skinny raises an eyebrow.

“What.”   
  
“Skinny. What the fuck are they thinking.” Jasper threads her hand through her bangs.   
  
Skinny gives a very long sigh, “I can bench press as much as any of y’all mooks, I was working at The Zoo for years now anyway.”   
  


Jasper narrows her eyes, “This isn’t The Zoo,” She gives a half smile, “The stripper bar right?”   
  
Skinny’s impassive face pinks slightly, “It’s burlesque dancing. It sure as hell probably had more action than this place.”   
  
Jasper shakes her head, “You’ll see. Just stay out my way new meat. I’ll wait for you to get fired on your own.”   
  


Skinny’s face mashes into an angry red and she balls up her fists this time, “Like, you can’t just not train me.  _ That’s _ how people get fired.”   
  
Jasper snorts and takes her by the elbow and drags her back to the front door where Emily had taken over.

“Keep up Twig-”   
  
“Skinny.” She corrects and Jasper wags a finger.

“I don’t recommend talking back.” Skinny looked ready to bite Jasper’s finger off, Jasper turns back to the door, “Emily. We can take it from here.”   
  
Emily, a 6’1 runner with a pierced everything, “Oh yeah?” She eyes them, “Someone new?”   
  
Jasper sniffs, “They’re going for some sort of ‘rob us, please’ look now. This is Scrawny-”   
  
“Skinny.”   
  
“She’s from one of the titty bars.”   
  
Skinny made a distinctly frustrated noise and Emily gives a brief chuckle, but turns to Skinny anyway, “Just make a mean face pup. You’ll get through the night.”   
  
Skinny’s mouth hangs open as Emily gets up to leave, “Can’t she be my mentor?” She mumbles and Jasper takes her by the elbow again.

“We’re taking over, so pay attention.” 

Emily waves bye to them and Jasper situates Skinny behind her as she shows her the ropes, “We do pat downs now after the...event in Orlando.” She saw Skinny nod ever so slightly.

“I know how to do a pat down.”   
  
Jasper rolls her eyes, “You aren’t touching anyone for at least a day. Any fuck up will reflect on me.”   
  


They bicker as Jasper quickly runs her hands down a patron’s leg and feels up his ankle to make sure he’s just bony and not packing a knife or something. She waves him in.

“We’ll have themed nights each weekend, but there is still a dress code.” Jasper explains how much skin was too much skin.

Skinny sighs as Jasper waves more people in, she crosses her thin arms across her flat chest, “Like, do people really follow those? If they have money, they’re in.”   
  
Jasper growls, “I do. I follow those. Don’t listen to any chicken-shit managers, drugs, disorderly conduct, shirts off, I don’t care, you answer to my rules now, got it?”

She watches Skinny’s throat bob as she swallows, “Yeah…” Her eyes darted down by her cheeks were a dusting of pink, she looked away, “You’re worse than Blue Holly..”

Jasper ignores that and watches a girl in mostly sparkles wink at her as Jasper checks her baggy shirt for anything. She giggles and Jasper almost manhandles her through the door.

Jasper lets the night-time rush breeze past her and she listens for any trouble, she quizzes Skinny on procedure and waits for the mob of people to trickle down, it was just a Thursday so Jasper waits for the break.

“I don’t suppose we’ll like, go on the floor tonight?” Skinny was picking at her nails while she leaned back on a stool.

“You do this first and maybe we’ll move you up. Maybe after you can do a goddamn push up.”

Skinny lifted her chin up, squaring her jaw firmly. “I’ve been doing this for years. I can goddamn hold my own.”   
  
“In a fight? With drunk bastards or girls with nails as long as God’s dick? I don’t think so.”   
  
“Why don’t you find out?” Skinny was leaning forward and something red was leaking from her eyes. She looked ready to put her dukes up.

Jasper finally blinks and something rumbles in her chest, she starts laughing, tossing her head back and letting the chuckle fill her. She claps her on the back and watches her wobble, “You’ve got spunk lanky-”   
  
“Skinny.” She still looked ready to fight. 

“Anyway. We’ll see how you do in your first scuffle, if you’re still around by then.” She was giving her a challenging look and Skinny shakes her head.

“I’ll be fine, whatever, your precious club won’t suffer any embarrassments.” She looked around and leaned back again, her lithe body like a loose bow string ready to be snapped back. Jasper felt like a smoke.

“Good. I don’t want one of my bouncer’s groped or in need of saving.” She pauses and frowns, thinking of the words. She finishes lowly, “You come to me if that happens.”   
  
Skinny looked up at the sky and Jasper could see her twitching, “I’m not going to get groped and I’m not going to need anyone’s help. I didn’t dragged out of The Zoo so you could yell at me.”   
  
Jasper felt like straightening the girl’s slim shoulders and shaking her, “dragged? You should feel lucky for this job. This club is Yellow Diamond’s favorite, we are her favorite.”

Skinny was quiet again, her face turned upward. “Whatever.” She huffs for what felt like too many times that night.

Jasper shakes her head, “Our shift is almost up. You should clock out while I sweep the last of the patrons out of here...If want to stay on this job, I wouldn’t wear that tomorrow night.” She points to her crop-top that clung to her and presented her miles of skin that curved and clutched her body.   
  
Skinny seemed to clench her jaw, “I’ll wear whatever I want.”   
  
Jasper’s hand ghosted over the other girl’s mid-drift, she knew it was too daring, the flash of pulse and warmth under her fingertips from the slip of her hand. Skinny froze for a moment, eyes wide and Jasper was gone. She follows in after her.

Jasper let her go and plans to go yell at management, just for a little bit, for hiring the least beefy bouncer in the entire business.

She didn’t imagine the next training sessions would be to her liking. Or any of them.


	2. Bad Times

Soooo, Skinny missed her old gig. She missed the slight scent of body butter in the air and wallpaper crinkling at the edges. She missed the scuffed floors and creaky stools where she could get free drinks from Carnelian. 

She was only brought here because they were short on experienced bouncers, and a rumor that The Universe Bar and Entertainment was supposedly syphoning off staff. But that was just a rumor.

And now she had to prove herself, now, instead of being yelled at by Blue Holly, she was yelled at by the Heftiest garbage bag in the game. She was losing her cool.

It was her second night and she was still turning red from Jasper telling her ‘she was under her watch,’ and ‘followed her rules.’ As if she needed that.

She wore a crop top again the next night just to spite her. Jasper had another thing coming if she thought Skinny was going to be pushed around.

Even if Jasper was built like a truck and surely Skinny didn’t come out  _ like that _ .

The Diamond Club in east LA was one of the gay clubs in east LA, trying to rival every other gay club in east LA and had girls night every other friday of the month.

Skinny had only ever been there as a customer before.

She came in around twelve for her shift and put on the oversized black bouncer jacket they had given her the first day. It swam around her waist and hung past her jean-shorts with the distinct scent of being previously owned by someone else. In her shorts and top she didn’t quiet look scary but was still the height of summer, she wasn’t going to sweat for some ‘look.’

Jasper came into the employee lounge behind her and grumbled, “Of course.”

Skinny eyes her behind her locker, “I don’t want to hear it.”   
  
“Can’t you at least look tough?” She was still nit-picking her. “You look like one of the dancing girls I could hoist over my shoulder and put in the glass cage.” The glass cage was one of the performers platforms the hired girls and guys danced on for most the night.

Skinny shook her head, “I can’t dance for shit and I’m a bouncer, nothing else. So don’t get any ideas.”   
  
Jasper snickered and put on her own black jacket. It seemed to fit her, even around the shoulders. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not.”   
  
Skinny frowned and fumed a little as she finished packing away and went to go out to the floor before Jasper led her there.

  
“I planned to keep you at the door for most the night.” She said as she strides past and expected Skinny to follow, “But we are short staffed so we’re bumping you to the floor tonight so watch me.”   
  
Skinny watches her.

She wished she was in her old club, sure it was more risque, and it was hard to tell her mom what she did for a living (‘I uh, stand at a door. And fight people? At a place where people take their clothes off? It didn’t go over well), but it had been hers.

Jasper’s eyes are bright and alert, at least she seemed to know her job- and take it much more seriously than Skinny thought you could.

She whispered behind her shoulder in a little stream, “Watch out for the boozer in the black T-shirt, he’s been tapping on the bar all night. If he slips anything into any ones drink, we ask him to leave.”   
  
“And if he doesn’t?” Skinny knew what they did, but she was curious about what Jasper might say.

She gave a wicked grin, “We tackle him.”   
  
“Um, club policy or yours?” The policy there was to make as little fuss as possible.   
  
Jasper shrugs, “Doesn’t matter…” Jasper frown deepened. “I don’t like people like that. I  _ hate  _ people like this.”   
  
Skinny blinks and feels something rattle in her core, yes, Jasper took her job seriously. 

Jasper kept her shoulders squared as they tail him and simultaneously keep an eye out on the rest of the club. It’s full of more ladies than general and Skinny tries to keep her eyes focused. Really, focused, look at the ground Skinny,  _ you worked at a nuddy bar before this for God’s sake  _ she chides herself.

The barkeep tries to make talk with her and the black-t shirt guy slips farther away from them, seeming maybe a little aware of Jasper’s intense gaze. Jasper follows him and Skinny finds herself along for a moment.

She is humming to herself along with the thumping illegible beat when some sort of action arises.

“You are soooo pretty~” There were four dance platforms in the club for dancers to perform on and patrons to ogle at: one glass cage, one normal cage with bars and two open platforms.

A brunette with sweeping long hair and unfocused eyes was trying to clamber up on top of one of the open platforms. The performer in booty shorts and a striped halter top glances down at her.

Skinny strides over immediately, “Ma’am, please stay down from the high rise. The girls are working.”

Her unfocused brown eyes drift over to Skinny, “She iss soooo pretty, can I touch your hair? We can dance together. We should dance.”   
  
The girl renewed her efforts to climb on top of the platform, incredibly drunk as Skinny could tell, and very determined.

Skinny jumps up close to her and nods at the dancer (Nancy she thinks? She met a few of them but her mind had already bled out the names like faded t-shirt tags).

“Ma’am please stop trying to get up there, you could hurt yourself or the performer.” She wasn’t listening and Skinny knew it was three strikes and she was out. “If you don’t stop climbing I will have to remove you from the club.” She made her mouth a hard line and tried to pull herself up to her full height. This wasn’t actually her usual fair.

The brunette was reaching for Nancy or something and Skinny intervened, “Pleeease, dance with me. I’m not even gay yet, make me gay.” She slurred and Skinny would bet money she was a drunk college student from out of town.

“I’m going to have to remove you now.” Skinny put her hands around the girl’s waist and prepared to hoist her away and drag her out the club. Her first smack down, this wouldn’t be bad.

She was feeling a little giddy with herself when she feels a weight crashing down onto her chest. The girl was sloppier than she expected and immediately slipped off the top of the black platform and seemed to push off backward with her feet.

She was falling directly back onto Skinny’s chest and toppling them both backward like a sinking ship- a really fast one with ‘oh noooo’ written on the side.

She already feels the prickle of embarrassment and imminent head injury surge through her, and then her shoulders are being clasped between two wide hands.

Skinny’s eyes go wide, her and the girl hadn’t collapsed Mufasa-style off the edge. She glanced up and instantly wishes she had, falling to her death> the look Jasper was giving her.

Skinny launches herself back to her feet and steadies the brunette in her arms, “You need to leave now miss.” She says without missing a beat so the customers don’t reflect on how bad she just fucked up.   
  
She takes the college student by the shoulder and guides her out of the club, Jasper doesn’t follow but she can feel her angry amber eyes setting fire to Skinny’s back.

Skinny takes the girl to the edge of the road and tries to ask her a few questions.

“Do you have a way home? Did you come with friends?” She asks softly as she watches the girls eyes flutter open and closed.

“I don’t understand...She was so pretty? I could be pretty.”   
  
Skinny rolled her eyes, “Focus, focus. You need to get home...And drink some water.”   
  
The girl seems to gurgle in the back of her throat and Skinny discretely feels her jeans for her phone and takes it out of her pocket.

“Like, okay, what’s your password?” She was helping. 

The girl's eyes flutter to her, “Wanna give me your number?”   
  
“Sure. Yeah.”   
  
The girl accesses her phone quickly, “My name is Kelly.”   
  
Skinny sighs and orders Kelly an uber, waiting for it to arrive and tell the driver where Kelly said she lived according to her phone. She places her into the car and watches her drive away as she hunches her shoulders.

That was something. But she could feel the music thumping on her back and the bad feeling in her stomach, she turns around.

Sure enough, Jasper was now manning (womaning?) the door and scowling at her, her arms crossed and sitting on the stool with a hard look.

It was 3am and they were closing soon, but Skinny was sure that wouldn’t come soon enough.

She creeps up and gives her a lazy salute, “Soooo, captain….like, you get to punch that creepy guy in the face?”   
  
Jasper’s face turns into a squint, “I sent Henry in to cover the floor.” Skinny doesn’t meet her eye.

“That’s good.”   
  
They stand there was the heat permeates beneath Skinny’s skin.

“You needed to fucking tell me.” Jasper rumbled at her, like a mountain ready to squish her, “You should have called me the fuck over.” 

“I could handle it.” Skinny says softly, though she knows that’s not the whole problem.

“And for God’s sake, you couldn’t even carry a 100 pound girl, she wasn’t fighting. She wasn’t anything and you fucking keeled over like a 12-year old hemophiliac.”

“I handled it, didn’t I?” Skinny feels her back tense, “And she surprised me! I could have carried her, but she pushed backward and we fell...”

Jasper’s nostrils flared and her eyes were dark with something hard, “What did I tell you? What did I say? Follow my lead. Follow me, and you did the opposite. You went off on your own on the second night and almost hurt yourself and a patron.” It was a snarl. “You’re walking a thin line new meat.”   
  
Skinny’s eyes go wide as she searches Jasper’s furious features.

“Please,” Skinny reaches out and her heart thrums, “I need this job. I-I’m not sure The Zoo will even be open much longer...I,” She gulped down her pride, “I can do better.”   
  
Jasper watched her and cocked her head to the side, “I’m not going to fire you.” Skinny exhales in one relieved breath, “But your shadowing period will be longer. And you won’t wander off, you won’t go off and get your ass handed to you by a 100 pound nothing. And if you do.” Jasper breathed out her nose, “Your ass is mine. You’re gone.”   
  
Skinny nodded meekly, she couldn’t believe what she was reduced to, she wanted to talk back, but her face was hot with shame all over.

She choked on the words she knew she needed, Jasper walked up to her anyway and tilted her chin up, tilted it up and made her look into her wide face, “So?”

Skinny pursued her lips, “Thank you.” 

Jasper nodded in approval and patted her shoulder, “You get that girl home?”

Skinny blinked a couple times and then nodded, “I couldn’t have her driving or, I dunno, walking. She was wasted.”   
  
Jasper looked Skinny up and down and then nodded, “Alright.”   
  
Skinny isn’t sure what that meant but she scurries inside to help sweep the floor of stray customers and close the club down for the night.

  
_ Alright. _


	3. Ride

Jasper was still uneasy with the New Blood, she was hot-headed and independent, not to mention talked like an aloof valley-girl that could peel the paint off of buildings with all that mid-drift she was showing. A hell of whole lot of paint.

Her long limbs folded around herself like bent paper clips and she was always slouching around the floor, Jasper could appreciate that she was alert, fast, and at least had a sense of rules. Or,  _enough_ rules.

She told Jasper about the public ‘relations’ in the bathroom and stopped some guy from sneaking in a needle (for God knows what) and told Jasper whenever someone seemed to be taking something too far.

Besides, it was always interesting when Skinny was approached by some sweet thing asking her about the job, or for ‘help’ or how far those legs really went down. Skinny would dust her cheeks with a deep maroon when she realized their intentions and several of her coworkers teased her (‘We should call you Red now, not Skinny,’ ‘Maybe cherry cheeks!’ They laughed).

Jasper shook her head and only glanced at her, “It’s part of the job.” She tells her at the end of a shift one night.

Skinny snorts and looks away, “Part of the job.” She parrots her with a falsetto and then turns around. “It’s distracting is what it is.” She was pouting.

“Suck it up.” Jasper says dismissively over her shoulder.

Alison patted Skinny on the back as she glowered, “Don’t listen to Jasp, she secretly loves the whole thing- gets more tail than any of us and she knows it’s just ‘cause she wears that jacket out the door.”  
  
Jasper ignores them with a short smile slipping onto her face, she turns to them with her chest out, “So? I can get some. So I do.”  
  
They freeze and laugh over Jasper’s brazen attitude, Skinny’s eyes edge over her. “Right.”

"Don’t hook up with anyone Skinny,” She says instead, “We don’t need rumors that our tiniest bouncer is easy. They’ll never leave it alone. Our rep will be ruined.”

“Ooooh but _you_ can.” Skinny was fuming, even though seconds earlier she had been dismissing the whole occurrence.

Jasper leans forward, hand reaching out, maybe to twist a stray piece of her fluffy hair between her fingers, “That’s right. They’d still be scared of me if I wore a cat outfit and banged every girl in town.”  
  
“I think they’d be more scared of you then!” Emily called from the back and she gives a hearty laugh.

She chuckles along with them and watches Skinny tear off her own jacket, Jasper turns away, ready to sleep for eleven hours but not ready to show that. “Keep your legs closed Twiggy.”  
  
“Eerrg,” Skinny was making snarling sounds behind her but Jasper just laughs again.

 

It wasn’t a bad night.

 

\------------------------

 

Jasper was having a bad night.

Jasper was having a really bad night. It started out as easy as any other shift, a Saturday with only a trickle of people showing up that early on.

It was 9:45 when her skin began to itch and she felt a dark cloud over her mind

Skinny was beside her at the time, not because they were busy but because Jasper swore she needed more training- the other woman had let in someone with a bag full of ecstasy the night before.

“I told you, that was Kyle who didn’t check the dude well enough!” She huffed as they sat outside in the LA night air, thick and warm with the cooling sidewalk.

“Well, Kyle isn’t here and we both know it was on your watch.” Maybe she was being a little harsh, but seeing Skinny all long limbs and contained resentment was...something.

“How do we know he didn’t just sneak it in up his ass or something?” She asks with her eyes narrowed.

“Then you check his ass!”

Skinny groans and throws her hands in the air, “What?!”  
  
Jasper sighs and smiles a little, “Alright. Whatever. Just, watch _me_ follow procedures, Kyle is always sloppy, you should still be learning from me first and foremost.”  
  
Skinny was still grumbling, “You don’t need to groom me like some sort of prize mastiff.”

Jasper shakes her head, “You have good instincts. You’ll be better than Kyle, I’ll make you better than all of them.”  
  
Skinny blinks at her rapidly, “Good...Instincts?” Her face relaxed into a picture of surprise, “Is that a compliment?”

Jasper gives a lopsided grin, “And you’re not even half as sturdy enough to be a mastiff. I would have to feed you 5 meals a day.”

Skinny frowns, “You had to ruin it...And I’ll have you know, I eat like a hoover, my metabolism is just as high as Jordan the other day when she came in.”

Jasper looks her over one inch at a time, “I’m sure it is.” She hums, “And if I had jurisdiction over the dancers you know Jordan would be fired right now.”  
  
Skinny snorts, “Don’t I know it.”  
  
They are discussing Jordan, how high she had been and how many hides Jasper would skin if she herself was in charge. That is when Jasper’s blood ran cold.

“You would be terrifying in charge,” Skinny finished with a smug look on her face, “All big and broad shoulders, they’d think you were just the bodyguard!”

Jasper opens her mouth to retort when she sees a deep blue skirt topped with an electric blue swath of hair.

“Oh no,” She couldn’t hide the sudden stiffening of her spine. She watched the figure approach like a ghost and Jasper’s face folds into itself.

“You okay?” Skinny was looking at her steadily and Jasper shushed her.

“I need...To go inside.” She says it, but doesn’t move. Lapis was still moving toward her, and maybe this time, this time, she’d want to, try again.

A crooked fantasy thunders through her thoughts, just as the rational part of her brain screams back ‘no, no! Not again, it would be hell. Again.’

Jasper cringes and doesn’t move from her spot.

Lapis was talking to a short girl by her side, an easy smile on her face and appearing to be engrossed in whatever the bespeckled girl was saying.

“Anyway, so I told him, if _that’s_ a disk drive then I’m an amazon! He didn’t even try unplugging it the first time, ugh.” The short woman lets out a high-pitched laugh and Jasper finally places it as Peridot. That Peridot.

Lapis laughs along with her and it’s a bizarre sound, like the memory of a phantom limb.

“Lapis.” She says it before she knows what she’s doing.

They were on the sidewalk, just right in front of them, Lapis finally looks up and their eyes grate over each other like steel on steel as Lapis’s face becomes a flat metal surface.

Peridot gives a soft gasp, “Jasper? Jasper! Lapis, Lapis, let’s take that side of the sidewalk.” She tries to push her.

Lapis walks more closely, her face a shadow of itself. She tilts her head, “Jasper.”  
  
It was polite. They could be polite.

“Lapis. I see you’re with…” She tilts her chin towards Peridot. 

Lapis nods, her back erect- as if it held an iron pole in it. It wasn’t like that last time they crossed. Maybe she wouldn’t punch her this time. “Yes. I work at the Universe’s now.”  
  
Jasper growled, her chest heating up with a licking fire. “Traitor."

Lapis shakes her head, “You’re still with them? After everything? After they treat us like shit, after we _know_ these businesses don’t even care-”  
  
“Shut your mouth!” It seemed like a roar and Skinny seemed to be grabbing toward her.

“Fuck you Jasper.” There it was. Cold, impassive, an icy fury that Jasper knew too well. Jasper wanted none of it, fuck, she wanted all of it. Something holds herself back for once.

“Lapis! We should go.” Peridot was trying desperately to haul Lapis to the side.

“Lapis. You are a traitor and a slut-”  
  
“Shut up!” Lapis was turning on her heels, she held up her middle finger, “You always were a loyal asshole who never knew she was being used. They are going to use you and use you, use you up. You aren’t ever going to rise above dumb grunt who didn’t know when to quit, because that’s what you are, a dumb fucking grunt.”  
  
Jasper’s eyes felt like they might bulge out of her head, she opens her mouth to let out a string of profanity so foul it could melt a hole in the cement. She wants her pretty neck to snap.

Peridot was dragging Lapis across the street and Jasper is so angry she is shaking in place.

Lapis didn’t know anything.

Skinny was eyeing her the way tourists view wild animals. “Um. Awks.”  
  
Jasper’s mouth turns into a hard line and she balls up her fists, “What!?” It was a roar.

Skinny doesn’t even flinch, “I guess that’s your ex, right? Pretty fucked, but I guess I might expect that from y'all or whatever. But, uh,” Skinny’s eyes flicker around, “She’s gone now. If that helps."  
  
Jasper raises her eyebrows to her hairline. She shakes as she stands up and knocks her stool down with a furious swat.

“Oh my God,” Skinny sounded exasperated.

“I’m clocking out for the night.” She says through clenched teeth, “I’m getting a drink.”  
  
She can feel Skinny’s eyes on her as she squares her shoulders and grinds her teeth down as she goes in the door. She hadn’t taken a sick day in three years so she figured she might be owed one already.

Jasper clocks out and rips her jacket off, stuffing it in her locker and picking up her wallet. “I’m taking the night off. Emily will cover me.” She growls at Limona, who just seems to nod.

Jasper planned to go to one of her favorite bars down a couple blocks but felt a thrumming of something so hard in her chest that she just sits down at the nearest stool at the club bar.

“One rum and coke. Triple shot.” She says it with gravel in her tone, eyes on the sticky bar counter.

A bartender, Navy she thinks, glances up at her in concern, “Oh Jasper, a triple shot? Um.” She hesitates.  
  
Jasper fixers her with a look that could drill holes in aircraft carriers and Navy scurries off, “I suppose you are pretty big!” She laughs and gives her free drinks for the night- the employee discount.

Jasper tries to muster a thanks but just downs it a few large mouthfuls instead.

It takes a lot to get Jasper drunk, she was practiced, large and didn’t give a single fuck. She kept the shots coming, and Navy didn’t seem to have to the heart to stop her.

Jasper was still shaking from her core, but it subsided to a dull roar in her head. The loose feeling in her joints was taking over instead.

She had at some point stumbled to her locker and put her bouncer jacket back on, she was leaning on the bar and grinning foolishly at a girl in starry leggings and sparkles around her eyes. It was space themed night.

“So, sweetheart.” Jasper crooned because she could, and also because she had just tasted the bottom of what was perhaps her fifth vodka shot. She had lost count. “Staying out of trouble?”  
  
The girl giggled and tilted her head towards her, “I don’t know, should I be?”  
  
Jasper gave a wider grin and hoped she didn’t fall down the moment she stopped leaning on the bar. “I’m the bouncer.” She purred and reached for the girls mousy auburn hair, “So I should hope so.”  
  
The girl bit her lip and batted her eyes at her, “And if I didn’t?”  
  
Jasper shrugs with a slow smile, “I’d have to be your trouble then.”

The girl seems to shiver and lean into her, “Doesn’t sound too bad to me.” She tilts her head back, revealing a harsh plain of exposed neck.  
  
“I wouldn’t be so cavalier,” She hums, her fingers reach for that curve of her throat, “I can be kind of strict.”  
  
She giggles, her mouth parted slightly and Jasper was certain she was going to get laid tonight.

“Alright, alright,” She hears a lazy voice behind her, “We’re closing up for the night, so everyone has to get out.”  
  
Jasper goes a little green in the face at the thought of walking again, but the sparkle-girl was by her side and Jasper prepares herself for the room to spin.

“Oh no you don’t,” A hand was on her shoulder. Jasper tenses and tries not to make a too ugly face in front of whats-her-name.

She turns on Skinny, Skinny was standing in front of her, hands on her hips and the curve of her tiny waist jutted out like an exposed tract of land.

“Navy told me you practically finished an entire bottle of vodka yourself.” She taps her foot, “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Oh dear,” the stars-girl was backing up from her, “Are you alright?”  
  
“Pfft,” Jasper waves her hand in the air, “You think this is anything? I’m half Irish, I could do two bottles of that crap and then some. I’m sober as a church bell.”

Skinny sighs and massages the bridge of her nose, “The others were too freaked out by you to come over here. But if you are so ‘sober as a church’ or whatever...walk a straight line over to me.” Skinny backed up a few paces and crosses her arms.

Oh no.

Jasper didn’t know why Skinny was taking charge, but she also didn’t turn down a challenge when it was presented to her. Even if the room was doing the macarona with the washing machine turned on.

She pushes herself off the bar she was leaning and takes an unsteady first step.

“Uh,” The star-girl was watching her and Jasper was concentrating.

One step, then another, another step, she could do this. She’d done this since she was a baby.

Jasper apparently needed more practice. She makes it three steps and looses her balance and topples to the side, feeling gravity's tug at her loose bits and drag her to the floor.

“Ugh,” She groans and kind of finds a comfortable position on the floor to roll over on.

“Sorry miss, the club is closing, can I escort you out?” Skinny was talking in her Customer Voice to the girl.

“Will she be alright?” She hears the girl’s voice fade as Skinny sees her out, Jasper groans again.

“Wait...Babe, I have, magic fingers. Um, I’m trouble, but like, sexy? Come on.” She was trying here, didn’t she at least deserve one night?

She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed through her nose, blue, blue and then she clears her head. She soon hears snickering above her, “Gross.”

Jasper blinks open her eyes and frowns.

“Get her back here.” She tried not to sound pathetic. On the floor. Drunk. Asking for whoever that was.

She could feel Skinny squatting over her, “Sorry pal, she's gone, just you and me now.”

Jasper looks up and makes a frustrated sound, “This is not fair. I was working hard... I could hoist you up a flag pole like a tissue if I wanted to.” It was a slurred threat.

Skinny sighs, “Come on. Upsy-daisy.” Jasper scowled but let herself be hauled to her feet by Skinny.

“Really?” Jasper sticks her lip out and Skinny tries to situate her arms around her waist. “I was so close.”  
  
Skinny has a wicked look on her face, “You are wasted. I promise you wouldn’t have enjoyed yourself, so…” Skinny elbows her, “What is it that you told me again? Keep your legs closed.”  
  
Jasper gives here a sullen look, “You’re liking this too much.”  
  
“Maybe a little.” Her eyes crinkled at the edges and Jasper makes a face.

“Are you taking me somewhere or not?” She snaps with her legs feel like jelly underneath her.

  
“Home,” Skinny adjusts her on her shoulder again and gets her to start walking, “I found it in the employee database so we won’t mess it up.”

Jasper’s head lulls onto her shoulder and she considers going to sleep, she jolts up when she feels a pinch to her side.

“Wakey- wakey. Drink this water.”  
  
Jasper blinks at her as she finds that they are standing on the side of the road, she feels cold water forced onto her lips. She grabs it and gulps it down.

“You are going to feel like twelve types of shit in the morning, but that should still help.” Skinny was watching her and Jasper felt her muscles stiffening, “An uber is coming now.”  
  
Jasper slumps over and threads her fingers through her hair, “Why are you always so...up on this?” She hiccups, “I’ve seen you call like seven ubers for people.”

Skinny lets Jasper lean on her, “Aren’t you the one that always on about rules?”  
  
Jasper’s eyes swivel towards her. “Yeah. I like that.”  
  
Skinny’s eyes go wide and she suddenly lets Jasper almost fall over as she hails their ride.

Skinny helps Jasper into the car and then sighs, the driver keeps glancing back at them, “Lady, I can’t have another person puke in my car. Can she even walk?”  
  
Skinny groans and Jasper feels herself being pushed aside and Skinny crawling into the car next to her. “I’ll get her home.”  
  
The car takes off and Jasper’s eyes wander to the ceiling. Skinny was watching her. Really watching her. Finally, Jasper tilts her head towards the slim girl and holds her gaze.

“What?”

“Where are these from?” She feels a sudden light touch on the faded scar on her face, Jasper tenses under her light fingertips across her cheek.

“What are you,” she hiccups, “Getting at?”  
  
“Come on.” Skinny was watching her, “The others were saying you got in a bar fight with the devil or something, and the other half bets you pissed off one of the diamonds.”  
  
“Never!” Jasper sits up straight and then slouches down again. “It doesn’t matter.”  
  
“I have twenty five bucks riding on this.” Skinny was poking her, but Jasper could also feel her amber eyes trained on her like homing missiles. She was curious.

Jasper sighs out a single word, “Military.” She touches her face, “Shrapnel.”

Skinny nods and focuses on the scars again, “My brother was hit by a drunk driver.” She says softly and Jasper’s eyes go wide. “His scars… are a lot like those.”  
  
Jasper holds her breath and then looks away, “It’s not like they mean anything,” Her shoulders bunch up around her ears, a moment passes, she manages to smile, “I was still going to get laid tonight you know, scars and all, until you inserted your narrow ass.”  
  
Skinny made a face at her, “You were going to fall on her the second you tried to walk and she’d be squished like a bug. A bug!”

  
Jasper was laughing, and she was laughing too hard.

Skinny shook her head and Jasper felt them coming to a stop, Skinny tries to help her out of the car again and catches her when she almost falls, Jasper blinks, “You are strong.” She says as Skinny supports her weight against her shoulder.

“Can I get that in writing from you? Maybe signed. Definitely signed.”

Jasper watches the gray sky above them, “I don’t think I could sign anything right now if I wanted to.”  
  
Skinny smiles at her in a rare lazy movement and then they start on the slow progress to the stairs, taking them one by one as she makes her way up.

Skinny complains the whole way and Jasper is half asleep. Skinny uses her keys for her and pushes them both into Jasper’s apartment.

“It smells like a protein powder gym in here.” Skinny was wrinkling her nose and Jasper was swaying side to side. She hiccups.

“Get out.”  
  
“Wow. Sparkling manners, I’m enchanted.”

“Get out, _please_.” Jasper says in exasperation.

Skinny stands up straighter at that and shakes her head, “This way.” Jasper is led to her bedroom after Skinny searches the apartment and then places her down gently on the bed.

“I’m taking your jeans off so you don’t lose all blood flow.” Even a blurry-headed Jasper had to wonder why she was doing all this. Why she was always doing things like this.

Skinny slips her pants off and Jasper tries to mumble a dirty joke, but couldn’t muster a good enough entendre. She pushes her in the bed and Jasper felt the edges of darkness creeping up on her.

“Thank you.” She finally says, “Thank you. This is why I kept you on.”

“So I could take care of your sorry ass one day?” She looked tired.

Jasper shook her head, “You put that girl on a ride home.”  
  
Skinny sighs and Jasper feels her get off the bed after she situates her, “Good night Jasper.”

She was already out.

  
The next day Jasper finds a glass of water by her bed side table and the worst headache of her life. And maybe an ache, a very large ache in her chest.


	4. Going Down Swinging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some violence in this one

Skinny has getting texts nonstop from her group chat.

**_8xG:_ ** _ Is the job really that bad?’ _

**_Carnelian_ ** _ : but I hear the pay is double!! _

**_8xL_ ** _ : at least you don’t have BH breathing down your neck like a dragon lady anymore... _

Skinny finally takes the time to reply.

**_Me_ ** _ : it’s bad. Pays okay. You wouldn’t believe the terror I have to deal with instead. _

**_8xJ_ ** _ : worse than BH?? (Standing for Bitch Hellfire) _

**_Me_ ** _ : she’s huge! And mean, and has a stick up her ass about rules and duty and whatever. She keeps calling me scrawny and telling me to cover up >:( _

**_8xG_ ** _ : you should buy her drinks and butter her up! Even Holly is better when you are friendly with her. _

**_Me:_ ** _ :( :(, I don’t want to. I just want to get my pay checks and not look at her big meaty face anymore or annoying flirting when she gets off work. _

Skinny pauses to look up at the sky for a moment, getting out a light sigh before she continues typing.

_ Btw, how’s home sweet zoo? Everything okay? _

**_Carnelian: …._ **

**_Me:_ ** _ what? _

**_8xL_ ** _ : …… _

**_Me_ ** _ : oh my God. _

**_8xJ:_ ** _ what they are trying to say is that, no, The Zoo is...YD is trying to get Blue to shut everything down. We’re pretty remote, and, you know, money isn’t good. _

**_Me:_ ** _ dammit _

**_8xL_ ** _ : yeah. Dammit. _

**_Carnelian_ ** _ : maybe you could get us jobs at one of your places? :) We’d love you forever. _

Skinny can feel her muscles bunch up with tension as she thinks about her old business going out of work. Of her friends not having jobs.

She tip-taps quickly on her phone as she walks to work.

**_Me_ ** _ : I’ll see what I can do. _

She might have to try to make-friendly with her bosses. She makes an annoyed noise at the prospect and bundles herself back into the back room to put her things away.

She’s fiddling with her zipper when they send her to the door to do look at kid’s ID’s before they came in the door. Easy work for early in the night.

  
She’s blowing hair out of her face when she spots Jasper again, blinking slowly as she tries to catch her eye. They hadn’t spoken since the last drunken night Jasper had a meltdown about her ex.

But Jasper seemed to be getting back on the horse.

“Staying out of trouble?” She crooned to a very short girl with black curling hair. She must like them short Skinny muses with a sniff.

“I would say so.” The girl says with a crooked grin.

“That’s too bad.” Jasper says lowly, “Because I’d love to be your trouble.”   
  
Skinny rolls her eyes, “Do you only have one line?” She says just loud enough for Jasper to hear her as they leaned on the brick wall close to the building.

Jasper glances up unhappily, Skinny waves at her.

“One second babe, I’ll meet you inside.”   
  
The girl shrugs with a flush to her cheeks and lets Kyle pat her down and Skinny check her ID, Jasper walks languidly up to her.

“Stop any fights lately Twiggy?”   
  
Skinny gives a frustrated hair-tug, “Only the one against yourself.” She says sarcastically.

Jasper gives her a cool look, “I expect you to be on your toes. My shift doesn’t start for a few hours, I’ll need someone actually good to watch these oafs.” That was directly pointed at Kyle who rolled his eyes at her.

And there it was again Skinny realized, a compliment.

She watched Jasper carefully, “Staying out of trouble,” She gave a lagging grin, “I stop trouble, blah, blah. And you need more than one pick-up line, honestly.”   
  
She shrugs, “It works doesn’t it?”   
  
Skinny scratched her chin absently, “I guess? But don’t expect all of them to jump into your arms with that.”   
  
Jasper was suddenly smiling with a feral, wild look to her eyes, not the controlled military grade concentration of the past. “I’m sure I have other ways.” She passes her and suddenly Skinny feels the same large hands ghost over her exposed stomach as Jasper glides into the building.

She had touched her abdomen again.

Kyle glanced back at her, “Whoa, what’s going on there?” His eyebrows were arched.

Skinny purses her lips together, “Shut up Kyle.”   
  
She looks at the next ID, looking it thoroughly over to distract herself from what just happened. “Next!”

The next hour passes with a deep frown over her brow and distinct memory of the black-haired girl’s eyes as Jasper wooed her. Wooed her, like an 18th century courtship...A bad one, at a night club.

“Why the long face darlin’?”   
  
Skinny looks up immediately. A man in a dark button up shirt was examining her and she didn’t like the crooked angle of his nose or thin lips. She didn’t like anything about it.

“Can I see your ID sir?” She sits up straight and puts her hand out.

“How about a smile?”   
  
She hated when they did that, “How about an ID. Then you can go inside and smile at whoever you like.” She tried to be pleasant, but was in an irritated mood.

He tuts at her, “Are you really a bouncer? You seem so much more…” He gestures at her and Skinny’s cheeks flare, she had at least never been questioned on her position by a patron.

She rips his ID from his hand and examines it, “I  _ am _ a bouncer.” She mutters, “Please go in and flirt with someone else.” She couldn’t believe she was acknowledging his advances, but he was already wafting past her.

She shivers, “What a creep.” 

Kyle nods back at her, “I think he really liked the pat down. Creepy.”   
  
They agree for once and Skinny has a lot tumbling around in her head. She’s on the floor in an hour to monitor the night, and she can already feel a headache coming on.

 

\-----------------

 

Skinny lets Alison take over ID checking when Skinny goes back inside for a fifteen minute break. 

The night was young still, but it was a saturday and close enough to the beginning of the school year for students to be letting loose.

The club was jam packed and Skinny had to squeeze her way past several sweaty bodies to make it all the way to the back.

She lounges for awhile, trying not to think about Jasper and trying not to think about her friends and their jobs.

Maybe the Universe’s were still hiring? She shakes her head, no, no, they wouldn’t even want people who used to be from the Diamond’s club- much less a burlesque one. 

She sighs, drinks her redbull and gets back into the fray.

She fumbles her way to the side of the room and taps her foot to the beat as she settles into the familiar setting.

They had DJ Sour Milk or whatever his name was and he wasn’t half bad, a mix of techno and Nicki Minaj in a fast paced wildness that fit the mood.

She’s keeping an eye out for the tall lady who just went into the restroom with shifty eyes when a commotion breaks out.

“She wants you to leave her alone.”

The was her cue, she turns around quickly to listen to what was going on.

“Maybe you should let her speak for herself,” There is was again, the silky voice that Skinny wanted to punch in the face.    


She scowls and tries to get closer, “I-I,” Someone was crying and Skinny was hot on her heels.

“You see, she was doing fine until you came and told her something was wrong.” The voice.   
  
“Did you put something in her drink?”   
  
There it was, Skinny was by their side instantly, “Is there a problem here?”   
  
A young man with a backward baseball cap was yelling at the same man with a black button up shirt.

The man smiles pleasantly, “I’m Sam, this is Jessica, and we were doing just fine.”   
  
Skinny scans her eyes to a dark skinned girl with little droplets of water around her eyes, this wasn’t looking good.

“I’m afraid I may have to ask you to leave.” Screw the three strikes you’re out rule, Jasper wouldn’t let something like this happen if it was her shift.

Sam shakes his head, “Now really, we were having a nice chat and it was this young man who is over-reacting,” Sam bent down and whispered in her ear, “I think he’s jealous.”   
  
“He put something in her drink!” The frat-boy was getting red in the face now.

Skinny turned to the unhappy girl, Jessica, swaying in place, “Is that true?”   
  
Jessica doesn’t meet her eye and shrugs, “I dunno.” Her voice rose in tone as her eyes went wide in a contained horror, “I dunno.” 

It sounded hazy, her voice faint, Skinny didn’t like this. “Sir, could you come with me to the back room?”   
  
He screwed his face up, all easiness erased, “Why?” It sounded like a threat.

“We just want to talk. And if it comes to it, I’m sure the police can sort this all out.” She tried to use her best customer voice, but there was a crowd around them now.

“Beautiful,” His face relaxed, “Don’t go to the trouble. I’ll leave Jessica alone and she can go on her merry way.”   
  
Skinny didn’t like this, again, “If you could please come with me. We can  _ all _ have a chat.”   
  
His face was turning more grim, “Are you really a bouncer?” There he went again, questioning her, her lip twitches.

Maybe she should call for back-up, maybe she should block his path as his ancy eyes kept glancing at the door. He was ready to bolt.

“This is a private business and we reserve the right to deny any services- wait!” She jumps in front of him as he starts to run, “You are talking to police!”

She shouldn’t stop him, but she was angry, she was tired of being questioned.

He turned around instantly as she reached for his shoulder.

“You want something!?” He clenches his fist and before Skinny knew it she was decked in the face, a hard impact that rattled her teeth and made her stumble backward.

She doesn’t fall.

She bounces back to a standing position and tries to grab him around the waist to incapacitate him. He wasn’t going anywhere. 

He elbow her in the gut, a hard bruising to her middle but she squeezes harder, trying to stop his wiggling form.

He turned around in her arms with great force and she lets her grip loosen, he jumps backward and makes a fist again. She tries to lean away, but he lands another punch directly to her face, too quick for her to raise her arm in protection.

She feels her lip split and her cheek tell her ‘no, this is not fine, time for the biggest bruise of your life.’ She wipes at her bleeding face and glances up at him.

Skinny stopped playing nice. She balls her fists up and jabs him directly in the gut before he knew what hit him, she was fast and she feels the wind knocking out of his lungs with a soft ‘oof.’

He yanks at her hair, but she kicks him in the shin and watches him go down.

“You bitch!” He roared, but her instincts had taken over and she grabbed his face and smashes it against her knee. She hears a crunch, she’s certain she just broke his nose.

He crumbles to the ground, clutching his face and Skinny dares him to get up with her eyes.

His face is pale against the crimson flow of his nose and the crowd is quiet and murmuring to itself, Skinny pants openly in the air as she tries to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding like a steam engine and it wasn’t bad.

“You!” She points at a random patron, “Call the police.” She barks as she watches ‘Sam’ in the corner of her eye.

Jessica was crying again and swaying in place, “I don’t feel good.”   
  
Skinny nods and the frat boy catches Jessica in his arms. Skinny could have punched Sam again.

“Skinny!” Skinny feels her eyes swivel to the other side of the room and sees her manager, Limona, frowning at her with a deep indent in her brow. “Come here.”

“I need someone to hold him.”   
  
“Emily, go get that man.” She sees Emily out of the corner of her eye go dash up through the crowd and grab him by the collar.

“You piece of shit.” She was whispering in his ear and Skinny’s exhales. The crowd parts for Skinny, but Skinny freezes as she feels a pair of eyes on her.

Jasper was on the other side of the room, her amber gaze was like gas lights on a road meant for ghosts and Skinny shivers.

What was she thinking?

Jasper’s figure was held completely taught and Skinny ignores Limona barking at her again, “Skinny!”

Jasper was lifting her chin towards her, almost a nod. Skinny finally snaps back to attention and jogs over to Limona, scowling Limona.

“You made a scene.” She says frankly and Skinny squares her shoulders. “There is blood on my floor and you didn’t follow procedure, what is procedure Skinny?” Her tone was none of the smiles of the first day.

“Uh, stopping any douchebags?” She offered with a wary grin.

Limona shook her head, “Three strikes. Tell them calmly to leave. Get back up, ask them calmly again- no fighting!” She was fuming, “And you cracked that man’s face open.”   
  
“Ma’am he was harassing-”   
  
“This will be in the paper.” Limona says coolly, like a make-or-break situation.   
  
“Canary,” They turn their heads at Jasper’s low rumbling voice, “I can discipline her.”   
  
Jasper’s eyes were dark slits and Skinny purses her lips. Jasper straightened her clothes and Skinny could feel a heat radiating off her. She was pissed.

Limona hummed, but maybe she could sense it as well, “I suppose...She  _ is _ under your charge.”

Jasper was the professional here, Skinny suddenly feels like a second-rate kid with a stick and a chip on her shoulder.

Jasper surprisingly doesn’t drag her to the backroom but the adjacent ally with fences and a cool breeze wafting through it from the cement floor and brick walls.

Skinny is still breathing heavily and Jasper was turning her around.

“Yeah, yeah, should have called for help.” Skinny says immediately and Jasper’s eyes are roving over her, she can feel herself heating up again.

“You should have,” She says with a rust and gravel tone, “And you shouldn’t have kicked his ass.” She scowls, Jasper grins, “So thoroughly.”

“Well, I guess I’ve proved I can hold my own in a fight now.” She says offhandedly.   
  
Skinny feels herself cornered against the wall as Jasper shuffles closer and closer and Skinny doesn’t know what was coming.

“You can,” Skinny’s eyes go wide as she feels Jasper’s hot breath on her lips, like smoke from a chimney or steam off a hot springs. It licks her cheek and Skinny looks up, they were almost the same height.   


Skinny’s mouth fell open and she felt Jasper’s entire body radiating against her, “So…?” It was a question, Skinny arched her back up as well and her lips are centimeters from Jasper’s again.

“I can hold my own.” It was a whisper.

Skinny feels herself being kissed, it’s hungry and rapid and she feel her split-lip bruising against Jasper’s firm touch. 

It was closed mouth at first, for just a moment, searching and then Skinny parted her lips and kissed back with her all the force she could muster, pressing against her chest and tipping her chin upward.

Her mouth was open and Jasper fit their bodies together quickly as Skinny’s back was pressed against the brick wall.

Skinny felt Jasper nip at her bloody lip and then let her tongue probe and part her lips further until the demanding, bloody kiss is an open mouth experience of lightning and thunder in her senses.

She is taken apart by the large hands and held against the wall as she kisses her back and the heady rush of making-out fills her.

Jasper’s hands feel everywhere and she can’t catch her breath. Then she’s pulling back, Skinny tries to follow her but Jasper smooth’s her shirt out and holds her in place.

“I wanted to do that for awhile.”   
  
Skinny feels her lip, it was bleeding worse, “You bastard. This is going to heel like a bitch.”

Jasper leans forward and presses another biting kiss to her lips, “Good.”   
  
Skinny shivers and presses up into her, “So, getting into any trouble?” She asks with hooded eyes and Jasper chuckles.

“Aren’t you the trouble in this case?” She was holding her by the waist.

Skinny’s eyebrows skyrocket and she blushes, “I just punched a man.” She blurts out and Jasper nuzzles her neck.

“I saw.” Skinny averts her gaze and looks down.

“You’re weird.” She mumbles to fill the space between them.

Jasper was still holding her delicately, “I know what I like.” She juts her chin out and looks to the door, “Let’s go inside.”   
  
Skinny feels at her bruised ribs and bloody lip and nods and rolls her shoulder. They begin to move.

“You’re really one hell of a thing.” Jasper was saying and Skinny rolled her eyes.

“What did you expect?” She shrugs as she tries to posture cool confidence.

Jasper’s mouth twitches up, “Not so much skin and attitude.” Skinny laughs.

“You’re in the wrong place then.” Skinny says easily but then gives a small gasp as Jasper leans down and kisses her on the cheek, practically floating her through the entranceway.

“Fine by me.”   


Skinny gets back to her post, disciplined and all and she reevaluates her new job. Maybe there was something here yet.


End file.
